Mural apparatus



Sept. 6, 1966 w. LUNDBERG MURAL APPARATUS Filed Aug. 29, 1963 FIG. 2

GEORGE W. LUNDBERG FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,271,568 MURAL APPARATUS George W. Lundberg, Browning Pond Road, Spencer, Mass. Filed Aug. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 305,467 1 Claim. (Cl. 240-) This invention relates to a mural apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus arranged to operate in connection with a window to give the impression of scenery outside the window.

It is very often true, particularly in a home, that a window in an important room in the house opens onto an undesirable view. In cities the view may be the side of a brick wall or may be the window of a house immediately adjacent. Even in the country at night, when it is dark outside, the dark window lends an undesirable air to the room. When the shade is pulled down at night, the conventional shade makes the room look bare and, furthermore, from the outside of the house it gives the house a rather forbidding aspect. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art arrangements have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a mural apparatus for improving the appearance of a room.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a mural apparatus for lending to a window the appearance of a beautiful view.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a mural apparatus for improving the appearance of a window of a house from the outside at night.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a mural apparatus for improving the appearance of a window either in the daytime or at night.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a mural apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the invention taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a large sectional view of a portion of the apparatus taken on the line III-III of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the mural apparatus, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a window 11. The window is mounted on a wall 12 of a room and resides a substantial distance above the floor. The window consists in the usual way of a frame 14, an upper sash 15, and a lower sash 16. The frame has an upper horizontal member 17, two side members 18 and 19, and a sill 21. In addition, it has a flat top molding 22, side moldings 23 and 24, and a bottom molding 25.

The mural apparatus consists of a sheet 26, a light source 27, and an enclosure 28. The sheet 26 is formed of a flexible sheet material and is preferably translucent. Materials which may be used with success are vinyl plastic sheet or polyethylene sheet. The surface of the sheet is painted with an attractive scene which, in the present case, is shown as a view of mountains overlying a lake with trees in the foreground. Other configurations could, of course, be used, as will be described more fully hereinafter.

The sheet is mounted on a spring-loaded roller 29 which extends between the side members 18 and 19 and is mounted on brackets provided therefor. The roller and brackets are similar to those used with the ordinary window shade, the spring permitting rolling up of the screen and also putting it under a degree of tension when it is in the downwardly-extended condition.

Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the lower end of the sheet 26 is formed with a loop, and in this loop is mounted a strip of wood 31 the center of which is provided a hook 32. This hook engages, on occasion, a screw eye 33 inserted in the center of the sash 21. It should be noted that the sheet 26 is wide enough to ex tend almost completely between the side members 18 and 19 and, of course, is long enough to extend from the sash 21 to the upper horizontal member 17 at the top of the window.

The light source 27 is in the form of an elongated fluorescent lamp mounted in the usual bracket 34 which is screwed to the front surface of the top molding 22. The light source is provided with a ballast 35 in the usual way and is controlled by a wall switch 36 located on the wall 12 beside the window. The enclosure 28 consists of a vertical front wall 37 which is fastened to the top molding 22 by means of end walls 38 and 39. Extending over the top of the enclosure is a top wall 41.

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view of the above description. First of all, it will be understood that, during the daytime, the switch 36 would usually be in an off position, so that the light source 27 would be turned off. Furthermore, the screen 26 would be released and rolled on the roller 29, so that the window would be available for sunlight. Under some conditions, however, when the view from the window is particularly undesirable, the screen could be left in the lower position both day and night. Usually in the nighttime the screen would be pulled down and the hook 32 locked in the screw eye 33 to hold the sheet in a tight condition, the spring in the roller 29 serving to pull the screen tightly against its lower end. Then, by use of the switch 36, the light source is turned on and the light shines downwardly from behind the front wall 37 onto the pictures. The occupants of the room get the impression, particularly if the configuration on the sheet 26 is artistically done, that they are looking out the window into a lovely daylight scene. The light source 27 is sheltered from the occupants of the room by the fact that the front wall 37 extends downwardly and upwardly above relative to the light source 27 a considerable distance. Furthermore, the light is reflected from the inner walls of the enclosure 28 and reflected in the downward direction to illuminate the sheet 26. It will be realized that, when the device is operative in the nighttime, persons outside of the house will see a similar scene when the light is on. At certain times of the year, for instance, Christmas or Easter, it might be desirable to use a religious or holiday motif on the window for the benefit of the people outside of the house, the translucent character of the sheet permitting the illumination on the outside in this way. If desired, the ordinary curtain drapes may be used in connection with the window without interfering with the mural apparatus of the invention. The use of curtains in this way serve to accentuate the illusion that the person in the room is looking out of the window at a very desirable view. It also gives the persons in the room during the nighttime the impression that it is still daylight outside and the depressing effect of a darkened window is avoided.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is: Mural apparatus for use with a window, comprising (a) a sheet of flexible translucent material adapted to be mounted over the window and to extend substantially over its entire area, the sheet carrying a picture on its surface,

(b) an elongated fluorescent lamp extending along the upper edge of the window,

(c) an enclosure for the lamp mounted along the said upper edge of the window and serving to direct the light downwardly in the direction of the surface of the sheet while serving to prevent substantial passage of light in other directions, the enclosure being of an elongated box-like form with a front wall extending parallel to the surface of the sheet and extending above and below the level of the light source by substantial distances, the enclosure being open in a downward direction,

((1) a spring-loaded roller mounted along the said upper edge of the window on which the sheet is mounted, and

(e) a hook located at the bottom edge of the Window and an eye located at the bottom edge of the sheet to hold the sheet tightly across the window.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner. 

